Ekpo enters cooking gas supply, challenges of rising prices
The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas), Ekperikpe Ekpo, is grappling with the continuing rise in the price of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) in the domestic market.
The LPG (cooking gas) intervention comes after the price of LPG per kg has increased from about N700 to more than N900 in some parts of the country in recent months.
“With LPG prices rising rapidly, the federal government needs to intervene and I am its representative at this time,” Ekpo said.
According to a statement issued by the Minister’s Spokesperson, Mr. Louis Iba, after the stakeholder meeting, Ekpo will be appointed to the committee chaired by the Chief Executive Officer of the Nigeria Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), Mr. Farouk Ahmed, for one week. He ordered them to find a solution within the next day.
The meeting was attended by executives of Chevron Nigeria Limited led by Mr. Sansay Narasimha. NMDPRA is led by CEO Farooq Ahmed and his NNPC Ltd.
The Expo tasked the commission to recommend the best way to increase supply and bring down LPG prices, stating that the main challenges identified as reasons for the price increase include sourcing of foreign exchange for imports and the domestic market for producers. This includes a lack of supply, he said.
He expressed President Bola Tinubu’s concern over the astronomical rise in cooking gas prices and the attendant hardships of the majority of the population.
The minister pointed out that this increase was manifested in cases where some multinational companies were interested in exporting gas without putting much gas into the domestic market.
Mr Ekpo said this was unacceptable and should be stopped as the country had rich gas reserves.
“While we face challenges with imports, we recognize that some producers are exporting.
“The public interest is a top priority for governments around the world and demand for LPG will increase as December approaches.
“There is a duty for the public service to work with government to ensure the security of gas supplies.
“Therefore, we need to bend over backwards and find solutions to ensure sufficient supply and stability in the country and gas availability for Nigerians,” Ekpo said.
Source: guardian.ng